And just like that, we're back to our regularly scheduled program talking about Traditional Western Medicine and the role of hygiene. What a crazy time the end of Fall, beginning of Winter has been, but... remember when I said once you go inward and understand yourself wholistically, you'll see how everything is connected (check back to episode #3 if you don't)?
Well, this episode you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Starting from episode five, we've been going over the basics of human nature and health according to Traditional Western Medicine: an old but wise systematized healing practice rooted in balance and harmony within and without.
With this particular healing system, there are Seven Natural Things which constitute the nature of human beings, all of which need to be in balance for optimal health.
The Seven Natural Things are:
The Four Elements: what everything in Nature is made of
The Four Humors: the primary components of the human body in reflection of the Four Elements
The Four Temperaments: the basic nature of a human being which includes physique, personality, and physiological makeup
The Organs & Similar Parts: the basic components of the human body and their function
The Four Faculties: the basic functions of the human body and their associated spirits
The Life-Giving Principles: the energies and essences that give life to humans
The Four Administering Virtues: the four secondary physical faculties of all bodily functions
Within this Western healing system, hygiene plays a huge role in the balancing act of the Seven Natural Things. Hygiene is the art and science of personal health maintenance and disease prevention. There are six factors considered as the basis of proper health management and disease prevention, known as the Six Hygienic Factors.
The Six Hygienic Factors are:
Air
Diet
Exercise & Rest
Sleep & Wakefulness
Retention & Evacuation of Waste
Anxieties of the Mind & Emotions
Episode #15, we went over the importance of air quality and a wholesome diet; episode #16, we got into the importance of exercise & rest and sleep & wakefulness. We took a break the last couple episodes because life decided to be insane, so this episode, we'll take a deep dive into the importance of retention & evacuation of waste, and anxieties of the mind & emotions.
Retention & Evacuation of Waste
Waste is a fact of life; it's literally impossible not to generate waste. As we need to eat and drink to stay alive, our Innate Heat (#13) acts on what we consume and keeps the nutrients while ridding the body of the shit (literally). A balance of retention and evacuation is necessary for good health and hygiene as excessive retention poisons the body with shit toxins whereas excessive evacuation rids the body of necessary nutrients. There are four types of main waste we generate, each relating to one of the Four Elements.
Exhalation (Air). Sweat (Fire). Urine (Water). Poop (Earth).
Exhalation (Air)
When we exhale, we are ridding the body of old, stale air, considered the waste of the Vital Faculty, or cellular metabolism. In order to have healthy breathing, inhalation and exhalation must be balanced. When inhalation is favored, it leads to gasping and shortness of breath, whereas when exhalation is favored, it leads to yawning, sighing, and a heavy, suffocating feeling in the chest.
Take note of your breathing, is it balanced or do you find yourself inhaling or exhaling more? If inhalation is excessive, more exercise and movement is needed to rid the old, stale air from the lungs. If exhalation is excessive, proper nutrition and cardio are necessary to strengthen the blood and lung capacity. Basically, if your breathing isn't balanced, get to exercisin'! Yoga is a wonderful practice to balance the breath, too.
Sweat (Fire)
Sweating is a more subtle form of waste, because even though there's the visible sweat that happens when it's hot or you're exercising, there's also an insensible version that's always being released to help rid excess moisture and vaporous humors from the body. So even though you don't think you're sweating, you are. It's the main way our body keeps us from overheating; it also helps cleanse the blood by releasing toxins through the skin... so all those products that are antiperspirant, are actually doing us a disservice by not allowing our body to properly function. As someone who doesn't like the feeling of sweating, I'd rather sweat my tits off than use a product that allows toxins to stay in my body (and adds more on top of it...).
Since we're always sweating, unless there's a chilly draft which in that case our pores close up and sweating stops (causing the excess fluids to go into the lungs, producing congestion and coughing), it's so important to hydrate often. This is your official reminder to drink some water.
Urine (Water)
Urine is the main liquid waste we excrete. It contains water soluble waste from blood plasma, urea: the protein byproduct that colors urine yellow, and excess fluid and electrolytes not needed by the body. The production of urine involves both the Water and Fire element, as the Metabolic Heat (#13) produced in the body is needed by the kidneys to ripen and rid the waste. The kidneys are what balance and dictate what's fluid waste and what isn't, so a good diet is necessary for optimal urinary health, which includes:
Ample water consumption (standard 8 glasses a day) where the water is pure and room temperature. Ice cold water inhibits the Metabolic Heat in the kidneys, causing them to function improperly
More water and less coffee, alcohol, caffeinated tea, and fruit juices as they overstimulate and eventually weaken the kidneys
Slim to moderate sugar and salt consumption to not weaken the kidneys or retain water
Plenty of fruits and vegetables (of course) to cleanse and alkanize the blood, aiding kidney function. Some fruits and vegetables, like watermelon and cucumber, are overly diuretic as they contain more than 90% water, so excessive consumption eventually weakens the kidneys
Moderate meat and protein consumption to not overburden the liver and kidneys with uric acid
Slim to moderate fat consumption to not gunk up our circulatory system, which is closely connected with our kidneys and urinary function
Exercise is also important for urinary health, and as we know from episode #16, so many other things. Moderate sexual activity is also important, as too much can and will drain and weaken the kidneys and urinary tract, especially in men. Save the jerkin' for another day guys.
Poop (Earth)
Last but not least, poop. Stool. Caca. Stool is our main form of solid waste, and is the one most prone to excessive retention. I feel like if we learned as children the basics of hygiene and the necessity of evacuating waste, we wouldn't be as scared or bothered by pooping... or was that just me? I remember being so bothered by the idea of pooping I would hold it in to the point my mom had to help me get it out... I won't bore or disgust you with the details of how.
Anyways! While excessive retention is more common, excessive evacuation can be pretty dangerous as well. This is diarrhea and is usually caused by either infection or inflammation, putting the body in emergency mode to rid it of the irritating matter. Excessive diarrhea though, can be life-threatening as the major loss of fluids and electrolytes will lead to dehydration. Excessive retention, however, or constipation, is so common it's typically the root cause of many chronic ailments, including: arthritis, acid reflux, insomnia, bad breath, hemorrhoids, headaches, and stomach-aches. Holding onto the waste that's meant to be eliminated means that waste is reabsorbing back into your body, causing autointoxication. My poor six year old self, holding onto that waste...
Poop, or stool, is the waste product of the Earth element, so think of your colon as the garden that holds Earth (poop). Your garden needs to be taken care of and filled with healthy intestinal flora to make sure things are running smoothly. Your diet is the main form of defense for a healthy colon, so again, drinking plenty of pure, alkaline water; eating fresh fruits and vegetables; little to moderate fats, meat, and refined sugars; and a shit ton (pun intended) of fiber and whole grains. Probiotics are also great to keep your colon flourishing with beneficial bacteria.
There are other forms of waste as well, such as ear wax, pus, tartar, and vaginal secretions for us ladies. Our bodies are really good at eliminating waste through the most convenient route possible, so if you have some shit coming out of you (again, pun intended) that's a great way to understand what's going on in your body.
Alright... before we dive into anxieties of the mind and emotions, let's take a quick breather. That was a lot; valuable and well-intentioned, but a lot. So, take some deep breaths, balance your breathing, and think of one thing you're grateful for.
(insert bird sounds here)
Anxieties of the Mind & Emotions
Okay. Let's get into the thing everyone's been talking about lately: mental health. Like we've talked about in episode #10, Traditional Western Medicine takes mental health rather seriously, as the health of the mind is connected to the health of the body (and just as important). Ancient Greeks believed the way of the mind and emotions experienced were tied to the Four Elements and their temperaments, where mental and emotional health was based on the balance of the temperaments and their associated emotions, whereas ill mental and emotional health came from the imbalance of them. It was believed that every emotion had their place, no state was inherently good or bad, but an excess or overindulgence could be destructive and lead to negative effects. Each and every one of us is predisposed to an excess of certain emotions and mental states based on our mix of temperaments.
Fire/Choleric Temperament/Fire Breathers
The fire element is correlated to the Choleric Temperament, aka our Fire Breathers according to the superpowers scenario I made up in episode #9. The more negative, or shadowy, emotions of Fire Breathers are anger, jealousy, impatience, criticalness, and aggression. Just like fire, these emotions can be rather destructive, especially in excess, as they either explode out and cause chaos or implode in and essentially eat away at the insides. The strengths, or more positive emotions are courage, fearlessness, boldness, and ambition; though these can lead to recklessness if not properly channeled and reasoned. Regardless of which, Choleric emotions take a great amount of energy, causing great stress and drain; so finding ways to chill and recharge is a must, especially for Fire Breathers.
Air/Sanguine Temperament/Air Benders
The air element is correlated to the Sanguine Temperament, aka our Air Benders of the world, aka me. Not to brag, but the Sanguine Temperament is considered the most desirable as it correlates to emotions such as joy, optimism, expansiveness, and lightheartedness. However, in excess, these lead to the more shadowy emotions such as lust, gluttony, indulgence, and foolishness. As much as we all like to feel good and indulge in the pleasures of life, overdoing it can absolutely weaken the character. Moderation and temperance is key to the Sanguine Temperament and emotions, balancing the pleasures with a sense of responsibility and self-control.
Earth/Melancholic Temperament/Earth Masters
The earth element is correlated to the Melancholic Temperament, aka the Earth Masters as I like to say as Melancholic sounds so... melancholic-y. I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to hear the Melancholic Temperament is the least desirable temperament as it correlates to emotional states like depression, anxiety, cynicism, and prudence. I definitely have some Earth Master energy in me... but! Being real and understanding hardships is a great strength of Earth Masters and helps keep indulgences within moderation. Stoicism is a great practice for Earth Masters, knowing that both pain and pleasure is a part of life and adopting personal integrity is key.
Water/Phlegmatic Temperament/Water Bearers
The water element is correlated to the Phlegmatic Temperament, aka the Water Bearers of society. Patience, faith, compassion, and devotion come easy for Water Bearers, as their innate Water energy helps wash away and clear the more shadowy emotions Fire Breathers tend to struggle with. However, they can be rather passive and sensitive, leading to sluggishness, inability to take action, and overwhelming emotional responses. Being able to put oneself in another's shoes, while not completely adopting and absorbing another person's emotions is key to the receptive energy of Water Bearers.
The best way to balance these varying states of emotions is to temper them with the positive emotions of the opposite yet complementary temperament. Like I said, the health of the mind is connected to the health of the body, and just as important. With modern medicine, the mind and the body are seen as separate and viewed very mechanically; but Traditional Western Medicine is aware of the strong affect our emotions have on our organs.
The heart is very sensitive to emotional states. Uplifting states such as joy, courage, compassion, and boldness strengthen the heart and its Vital Faculty, whereas emotions such as anger, fear, cynicism, and cowardice weakens the heart. It's believed you can die from a broken heart, so love and the will to live are extremely important. If you have a very low will to live, reach out and let's work together and see how we can change that and bring the light back into your life.
The lungs respond similarly to the heart when it comes to emotional states. They need "breathing room" to function, so the feeling of being smothered or denied mental/emotional/physical/psychic space inhibits the lungs and cause them to function improperly, leading to chronic respiratory conditions like asthma.
The throat, connected to the Throat Chakra, or Vishuddha, is our main communication mechanism, so when one feels like they can't speak their truth, conditions of the throat occur, sometimes even leading to completely muteness. It's so important to speak up (something I'm still learning), as pushing your feelings down your throat actually makes it vulnerable to improper function and disease. Looking back, it makes sense why strep throat was so common for me when I was younger as I was stuffing my feelings down constantly.
The liver, gallbladder, and stomach are extremely sensitive to Choleric emotions like anger, resentment, jealousy, and irritability. These emotions are housed in these organs, causing them to slowly eat away at them when they become excessive. Explosive anger and rage can actually burst up into the head, leading to headaches, blood shot eyes, and muscular tension, or can lead to gastritis and ulcers in the stomach. Melancholic emotions and tense states slow and stagnate the flow of the Natural Force in the stomach, causing bloating, gas, colic, and aches; and in severe cases, nausea, anorexia, and other appetite disorders.
The colon is vulnerable to excessive Melancholic emotions due to the importance of black bile to its function. Deep-seated anxiety, stress, and even insecurities impair its function as the colon is connected to the Root Chakra, or Muladhara, which correlates to our emotional security. These emotions can lead to constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and if severe enough, colitis.
Male reproductive organs are closely linked to the kidneys and urinary tract, so powerful emotions that affect the kidneys such as fear, shock, and anxiety, also negatively affect male reproductive organs and sexual function. Impotence, for example, can be emotionally caused by feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and fear. The adrenals, which sit on top of the kidneys, are drained and negatively impacted if men don't live emotionally-balanced lives, negatively affecting sexual performance as well. Female reproductive organs are vulnerable to the emotional safety she feels with her partner. If trust and intimacy aren't cultivated or even violated, the emotional trauma impacts sexual health and response, provoking fear and inadvertently shutting down receptivity to orgasms.
The brain, however, can actually be a cause of imbalances and disorders or even promote wellness, especially of the heart, due to our thoughts and daily thinking. If pain, misfortune, and “woe is me” is all you think about, your heart and its Vital Spirits will be impacted heavily. It's vitally important to watch your thoughts and how you think of your life and the world.
Emotional health is just as important as physical health. Be kind to yourself. Hold compassion for yourself and others. And make sure you're getting rid of the shit regularly. Pun intended.
Remember physical health affects mental health which affects emotional health which affects spiritual health. Let’s get ourselves balanced and back to feeling good about life.
'Til next time fellow human.
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